Now and Then (Spenser Mystery) - Hardcover

Parker, Robert B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399154418 ISBN 13: 9780399154416

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007

Synopsis

Spenser knows something's amiss the moment Dennis Doherty walks into his office. The guy's aggressive yet wary, in the way men frightened for their marriages always are. So when Doherty asks Spenser to investigate his wife Jordan's abnormal behavior, Spenser agrees. After all, a job's a job.
Not surprisingly, Spenser catches Jordan with another man, tells Dennis what he's found out, and considers the case closed. But a couple of days later, all hell breaks loose, and three people are dead. This isn't just a marital affair gone bad. Spenser is in the middle of a hornets' nest of trouble, and he has to get out of it without getting stung.
With Hawk watching his back and gun-for-hire Vinnie Morris providing extra cover, Spenser delves into a complicated and far-reaching operation: Jordan's former lover Perry Alderson is the leader of a group that helps sponsor terrorists. The Boston P.J. will use all his connections - both above and below the law - to uncover the truth behind Alderson's antigovernment organization. Alderson doesn't like Spenser poking around his business, so he decides to get to him through Susan. But what Alderson doesn't realize is that Spenser will do anything to keep Susan out of harm's way; nothing will keep him from the woman he loves.

About this title

About the Author

Robert B. Parker was the author of more than fifty books. He died in January 2010.

Reviews

When a client who suspects his wife is cheating on him is murdered in Parker's 35th snappy Spenser adventure (after Hundred-Dollar Baby), the Boston PI takes it personally, not only because the case resonates with Spenser's past history with love interest Susan, but also because, like Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, Spenser feels he can't let a client get murdered without doing something about it. The repartee is up to Parker's high standards, and the detection is hands on and straightforward, with Spenser carrying the load. Since Spenser's aides, including the stalwart Hawke, outclass the heavies, Spenser has time to deal with the mysterious other man, Perry Alderson, whose academic background appears as suspect as his dealings with various subversive groups. This briskly paced cat-and-mouse game offers Spenser fans exactly what they've come to expect from the reliable Parker—no-nonsense action and plenty of romantic give-and-take between Susan and Spenser, who even find the subject of marriage intruding once more. (Oct.)
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*Starred Review* In his Spenser novels, when he's writing at the top of his game (which he is here), Parker is like a brilliant musician. From the opening chords which, in just about every Spenser novel, comprise the staging of the first meeting between private-eye Spenser and a troubled client you know you're listening to someone who has absolute command of his work. And it just gets better, as Parker builds his theme, with variations both comic and thrilling. This time out, in the thirty-fifth addition to the series, the troubled client is a husband who feels his wife has been behaving bizarrely. Spenser thinks she's probably having an affair, and through the magic of a planted listening device, he presents the worried husband with the damning evidence. The device has also picked up that the wife's lover is involved in a group called Last Hope, which turns out to be a kind of brokerage outlet for terrorists looking for equipment and other terrorists. The case has moved from the kind of private-eye work that Spenser finds sleazy to one with horrific ramifications. The story itself makes compelling reading on its own, but Parker, as usual, spikes it with caustic wit and the interplay between Spenser and his longtime love, Susan. And here he ups the ante by calling on Spenser to use all his brain and brawn to protect Susan. Terrific. Fletcher, Connie

Edition details

• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399154418
• ISBN 13: 9780399154416
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304